clifford_thornton

I've heard good things about an LP he cut for RCA-Victor, but outside of Brubeck-Desmond haven't heard much. I always liked his playing on those records; Bru is kinda cloying for my tastes, but Desmond and Morello are often interesting together. If I'm not mistaken, there is at least one Desmond-Mulligan LP on Verve that has Morello on it; it's a nice West Coast pianoless quartet date that really opened my ears to Desmond, especially.

Yeah, agreed - the Nova builds nicely, but TCB is phenomenal. I bet he was great with Elvin, too. My favorite Skid performance is a live boot (probably being passed around the internet by now) from Frankfurt in 1972 with the Griffiths-Taylor-Laurence-Levin quintet. Very strong stuff, but it would have been even greater to see! Now spinning: Jarman-Moye Egwu-Anwu (India Navigation) featuring some drum patterns that, now that I think of it, sort of remind me of Hank Drake.

Funny, I've never really given any time to their recordings from later years, as much as the 70s material is a gas to listen to. It's something about being without Feza and Dudu that just doesn't make it the same - maybe why those later Blue Notes recordings are in another area entirely. For Mongezi is heavy, but also rather directionless, for example. Then again, I guess it was edited down from a long concert, but still...

Yeah, joyful it always is - they are a gas to listen to. Most of the live stuff is way, way freer than anything on the Neon (or even the Victor LP cut a year later), but those Cuneiforms are amazing discs. I listen to them far more than any of the LPs. The Brotherhood are still quite underrated, which is strange considering how the internet has made finding that music much easier. I would think cats would have jumped all over the shit at this point... they had a pretty strong following among European audiences in the 70s, if I am not mistaken. Seems like you couldn't put on a festival without that band showing up!

Actually, French pianist Francois Tusques is working on a series of visual diagrams of Monk's music. It's referred to in a recent AAJ article on Francois, worth a look if yr interested. I have seen the diagrams and they are absolutely beautiful. Also, graphic scores - though really telling you more about the composed angle than the improvised - are often wonderful visual ways of conceptualizing a piece. In jazz, if you look at the scores of Cecil's music, or for that matter Alexander von Schlippenbach's Globe Unity diagrams, it is really beautiful stuff.

All of those are valid points, especially the first - even mild autism can really cause a lot of alienated and confused feelings, despite what seems like social well-adjustment. I have some experience with this and let me tell you, it is not pretty for those who have to deal with it.

Damn, I wish I had that on LP! You can send it to this address: 29xx W. Dallas Houston, TX xxxxx

Great record - just have to find the box it's still packed in! Yes, it is the first "official" BOB record, though was preceded by The Chris McGregor Group - Very Urgent (Polydor, 1968), with Feza, Dudu, Ronnie Beer, Dyani and Moholo, and before that, a record on Gallo Africa, the name of which escapes me. But for fuck's sake, "MRA" absolutely slays!

Cecil Taylor Jazz Unit - Nefertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come - Dutch Fontana pressing, with Marte Roling cover art Now, side 2 of Marion Brown - Juba-Lee - Dutch Fontana original, and a classic of fire music!

I saw "Cunning Stunts" listed earlier, so I left the Cows off. "Sexy Pee Story" is another great Cows record, if that counts. Yeah, they do, amen. If we wanted to trail off into weird titles, "8-Way Santa" is kinda mind-melting. I hope I'm remembering that right, it has been awhile...

As Brandon will attest: TUBER!

Wow, that cover is amazing. Almost looks like a late FMP or something.

And a really great band, too!

I suppose you left the Cows off that list, though the name might not instill too many raised eyebrows...

Yeah, my WLP of the Hasaan LP doesn't sound so hot, even though it looks clean. And yes, I realized the folly of my reasoning for the earlier post after a few moments, but hey, might as well add to the discussion!

I often feel the same way. Two is just not always enough. Why have two when there's the possibility of three. Folks spend way too much time thinking about 4' 33" when there's other issues to explore. Word. Make 'em squeal like Alan Silva's bass, is all I have to say on it.

I often feel the same way. Two is just not always enough.

6'6" though the rest of it is subjective! Thanks, Patricia!

My mom works for the Rothko Chapel. She's pretty fired up on Feldman, and hopefully they'll get their shit together and have the piece performed publicly for the first time in a while. Happy Birthday Morty! And thanks, 7/4, for posting those wonderful photos. But who is that guy from Sunburned Hand of the Man standing with him?

A New Conception would make a nice RVG. It's a great record, though the rhythm section isn't the most sale-able. But Galper and Ellington (and Herbie Lewis) are great - Steve Ellington is a criminally underrated drummer.

So the Gigolo is that good, eh? Should I feel like a dick for passing up $20 original LP copies because I thought it would sound like the other Lee boogaloo records I have? Have I answered my own question?

Paris? Oui!

Aren't test pressings usually done up on lesser vinyl that doesn't hold up as well? I always think of them as something to check that the plates are correct, and thus the sound on first play, rather than any longevity.

I like the Brooks a lot, but quite a few have the same "Blowing Session" criticism of it that you do. Then again, there are many, many titles in the BN catalog fitting that description to a tee. Still, it's one of those recordings that, if not a 'clarion call,' still signifies that period of post-bop jazz as good or better than many, strictly because of the caliber of playing and tightness of the band. It's been some time since I pulled it out - and it's probably still in a moving box - but I'm now primed to revisit it with some detail. Thanks for the reminder!